Esther
by Michaela Rachel Katrina
Summary: Charlie's sister Esther goes with him to the factory. Will sparks fly between Esther and Mr Wonka? This is set out so it will go through the movie and then afterwards. WW/OC. Rating may change! On hold until I finish my Potc story. Sorry.
1. The Golden Tickets

_Author's Notes: _

_1. This version is Tim Burton's. So Willy Wonka will look like he did in the film when he was played by Johnny Depp. _

_2. I don't own Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Only my two OC's. The second OC will come in later. Much later. _

_3. This is my first Charlie and the Chocolate factory fic so sorry if it is not that good but I hope you enjoy it anyway. _

_4. It is like the movie for the first few chapters and then I will be creating my own as I carry on the story. _

**Chapter 1**

**The Golden Tickets**

Esther was a beautiful girl. She had dark locks flowing down her back, pale complexion that worked well and bright green eyes. The one thing people would think when they thought of her was that she had the most beautiful eyes they had ever seen. Not many people had seen the startling emerald green eyes that she possessed on anybody else before. Esther was a lovely girl. She was twenty-three years of age and no body had met a kinder girl. She had the biggest heart, even compared to her younger brother, Charlie.

Her and her family were not the richest of families and she had taken a job up as the art teacher at the school as she was amazing when it came to art and had a wonderful imagination. She was only the assistant however so she didn't get as much money as compared to the proper teachers. She would do anything to help anybody but most of all she would do anything for Charlie.

It was coming into winter now and throughout the day it had randomly being snowing at different times of the day. Esther walked down the street and wrapped her coat tightly around her and walked quickly back to her home. She opened the gate and listened to it creak and jogged up the path and quickly went inside. She rubbed her hands together and let out a shuddering breath. Charlie had already got home from school and was sat down at the table silently. Charlie was just an ordinary boy. He was not stronger or faster or cleverer than any other child but to Esther he was amazing. He was polite, kind, helpful, sweet, and anything else she could think of.

She smiled at Charlie who looked up as she walked in and he smiled back. She stripped from her coat and put it on the back of the chair and sat down next to the bed in the centre of the room. She sighed and watched as her mother cut some cabbage. Suddenly a large gust of wind hit them all as the door opened again and their father walked inside.

"Evening Buckets." he said as he entered the room.

"Evening." Grandpa Joe said.

"Hi dad!" Charlie and Esther called happily. He smiled at them and walked over to their mother.

"Soup's almost ready, darling." his wife said. "Er, don't suppose there's anything extra to put in, love?" She shook her head and smiled. "Oh well. Nothing goes better with cabbage than cabbage." She started to chop more cabbage as Esther watched her father walk over to Charlie.

"Charlie, I found something I think you'll like." he said as he stuck his hand in his pocket to pull something out. He pulled out a odd looking toothpaste lid. It looked like two were stuck together. Mr. Bucket worked at the local toothpaste factory. It wasn't the best job but it still had money coming into the house to get them the littlest things. The hours were long and the pay was terrible, she felt bad for her dad having to work there. Charlie smiled and grabbed it.

"It's exactly the piece I need. Thanks dad." he cried as he grabbed his model out of the cupboard. He had his dad gather up old toothpaste lids and he had created an exact replica of the Wonka chocolate factory that was stationed in town.

"What is it Charlie?" Esther questioned.

"The head for Willy Wonka." he said and stepped back.

"Well how wonderful." Grandma Josephine said and smiled kindly at him. Grandpa Joe nodded his head in agreement with her.

"It's quite a likeness." he stated.

"You think so?"

"Think so? I know so?" he said and Esther rolled her eyes. Her grandpa was going to go off again about the time he worked in the factory. Not that she minded because they were fascinating stories but he just told them all the time. "I saw Willy Wonka with my own two eyes. I used to work for him, you know." She smiled as she watched her brother look curiously at her grandpa.

"Really?" he asked amazed. "You did?"

"I did." he said with a nod of his head.

"He did." Grandma Josephine said and then Grandpa George.

"I love grapes." Grandma Georgina said with a happy smile on her face. Esther giggled. She loved her grandma Georgina and her weird comments. It never failed to make her laugh.

"Of course I was much younger in those days." Grandpa Joe said as he started his story. Even though she had heard it more than once, she stayed to listen to it anyway. "Willy Wonka began with a single store on Cherry Street. But the whole world wanted his candy. The man was a genius. Did you know he invented a new way of making chocolate ice cream, so that it stays cold for hours without a freezer? You can even leave it lying in the sun on a hot day, and it won't go runny."

"But that's impossible." Charlie exclaimed. Esther remembered when she first heard the story, she thought the exact same thing as her brother.

"But Willy Wonka did it." Grandpa Joe said with a smile. "Before long he decided to build a proper factory. The largest chocolate factory in history. Fifty times bigger than any other."

"Tell him about the Indian prince. He'd like to hear about that." Grandma Josephine suggested. "Esther did."

"You mean prince Pondicherry?" he said and she nodded her head. "Well, Prince Pondicherry wrote a letter to Mr Wonka and asked him to come all the way to India and build him a colossal palace entirely out of chocolate." Charlie's eyes widened and Esther smiled. "It had one hundred rooms and everything was made out of either dark or light chocolate."

Esther couldn't help but feel hungry now that they were talking about chocolate and pouted. "True to his word, the bricks were chocolate and the cement holding them together was chocolate. All the walls and ceilings were made of chocolate as well. So were the carpets and the pictures and the furniture." Esther looked over to Charlie who looked really intrigued with the story and smiled softly.

"Mr Wonka told him that the palace would not last long and that he should start eating it quick. Prince Pondicherry ignored him and stated that he was going to live in it. But Mr Wonka was right of course. Soon after this there came a very hot day with the boiling sun. The whole palace melted. The prince sent an urgent telegram requesting a new palace but Willy Wonka was facing problems of his own. All the other chocolate makers, you see, had grown jealous of Mr Wonka. They began sending in spies to steal his recipes. Ficklegruber started making an ice cream that would never melt. Prodnose came out with a chewing gum that never lost it's flavour. Then Slugworth began making candy balloons that you could blow up to incredible sizes. The thievery got so bad that one day, without warning Mr Wonka told every single one of his workers to go home. He announced that he was closing his chocolate factory forever."

Charlie frowned and looked at them. "But it didn't close forever." he said. "It's open right now."

"Ah yes." their mother said and smiled at him. "Well sometimes, when a grown-up says forever. They mean a very long time."

"Such as 'I feel like I've been eating nothing but cabbage soup forever.'" Grandpa George said as he looked at the soup in his hand that their mother had passed around halfway during the story.

"Now pops." their father chided and gave his father a look.

"The factory did close Charlie." Grandma Josephine told him as Esther put down her bowl.

"And it seemed like it was going to be closed for ever. Then one day we saw smoke rising from the chimneys. The factory was back in business." Grandpa Joe said happily.

"Did you get your job back?" Charlie asked. Grandpa Joe looked down at his lap and shook his head sadly.

"No. No one did."

"But there must be people working there." he asked curiously and a little confused.

"Think about it, Charlie. Have you ever seen a single person going into that factory, or coming out of it?" Grandma Josephine asked. Charlie looked at her and slowly shook his head.

"No. The gates are always closed."

"Exactly."

"But then, who's running the machines?"

"Nobody knows, Charlie." his father spoke up. "It certainly is a mystery."

"Hasn't someone asked Mr Wonka?" Charlie asked and Esther smiled. She would so love to meet that man but she knew it was more likely for her to go to the moon that for her to meet the genius who came up with all these ideas.

"Nobody sees him anymore. He never comes out. The only thing that comes out of that place, is the candy. . . already packed and addressed." Grandpa Joe said sadly. "I'd give anything in the world just to go in one more time, and see what's become of that amazing factory."

"Well, you won't, because you can't. No one can." Grandpa George said a little too harshly. "It's a mystery and it will always be a mystery. That little factory of yours, Charlie, is as close as any of us is ever going to get."

"Come on, Charlie, Esther." their mother said as she stood. "I think it's time we let your grandparents get some sleep." Esther stood and helped clear the bowls and cups away and put them on the bench. Charlie went round and hugged his grandparents and said goodnight to everyone and then Esther did the same. Esther walked up the stairs behind her brother and went into the bedroom that they shared and plopped down on the bed.

"Nothing's impossible Charlie." she whispered to him before she fell asleep.

When morning came Esther got up and dressed and then went to wake her brother. He groaned but managed to get up. Esther walked down the creaky steps and grabbed a glass of water and pulled on her long black coat. She wrapped a scarf around herself as she noticed more snow had fell during the night and the air seemed chillier. She waved goodbye to Charlie just as he came down the stairs and walked out the house and into the cold air outside. Esther sniffed and hugged her coat tighter to herself and trudged down the street. She frowned as she saw a crowed forming around a lamp post and walked forward to see what was going on. She pushed her way through a saw a noitce stuck to it and started to read.

Her eyes widened as read the notice that was wrote by Willy Wonka himself. He had wrote that he had put five golden tickets in five ordinary Wonka bars and who ever got them would be able to go to the factory and one would win a very special prize. She trudged through the snow and walked quickly to work. The day was tedious and she was thankful when it ended and sighed in relief when she saw her house. She got inside and plopped down on a seat and turned the TV on and the news popped up.

"Five golden tickets have been hidden under the ordinary wrapping paper of five ordinary Wonka bars." the newsreader said. "These five candy bars may be anywhere. . . in any shop, in any street, in any town, in any country in the world." Esther smiled. What she wouldn't give to be able to win one, but it had stated that it was the kids that were to have it. She wondered why. Charlie came rushing through the door and shook the snow from his hair.

"Wouldn't it be something, Charlie, to open a bar of candy and find a golden ticket inside?" Grandpa Joe said to him as he stopped by the bed. Charlie smiled, somewhat sadly.

"I know, but I only get one chocolate bar a year. For my birthday."

"Well it's your birthday next week." their mother piped up.

"You have as much of a chance as anybody." Esther said and smiled softly. Charlie looked up and smiled back. Grandpa George snorted.

"Balderdash. The kids who're going to find the golden tickets are the ones who can afford to buy candy bars every day. Our Charlie gets only one a year. He doesn't have a chance." Grandma Josaphine shook her head.

"Everyone has a chance." she countered.

"Mark my words, the first kid whose going to find that ticket is going to be fat, fat, fat." he said and folded his arms. Esther rolled her eyes but she did have to agree with him. That kid was going to be fat.

* * *

Charlie was sat on the bed as they all watched the news. The first golden ticket had been found by a fat kid called Agustus Gloop. Esther watched as the press gathered around in a meatshop of some kind with microphones held up to two fat people. One was the child, Agusutus, who had chocolate all around his face and the other was a woman, she was his mother she guessed.

"I am eating the Wonka bar and I taste something, that is not chocolate. . ." the kid said and Esther noticed he had a German accent. "Or coconut. . . or walnut, or peanut butter. . . or nougat. . . or butter brittle, or caramel, or sprinkles. So I look and, I find the golden ticket." He ended the speech by waving the golden ticket in the air with a bite missing out of it.

"Agustus, how did you celebrate?" the press man asked.

"I eat more candy." he said and did just that.

"We knew Augustus would find the golden ticket." his mother said with a happy smile. "He eats so many candy bars a day that it was not possible for him not to find one." Esther wrinkled her nose.

"Yes, it is good, Augustus. Zehr gut." the press man said.

"Told you it'd be a porker." Grandpa George said and had a disgusted look on his face. Esther couldn't blame him, the boy was vile, and the mother was worse. Who would let their child get that fat and eat all them chaocolate bars? Not a good one in her opinion.

"What a repulsive boy." Grandma Josephine said, mostly to herself.

"Only four golden tickets left." Esther said as she shut off the TV.

"Now that they've found one, things will get really crazy." Grandpa Joe said and boy was he right.

* * *

The second ticket had been found. By a young dark haired girl; Veruca Salt. The Bucket's were sat around the TV watching the news about the second golden ticket finder. "Veruca. Can you spell that for us, please?" the press man said as he held out the microphone to the little girl. She did so with a huge smile.

"V-E-R-U-C-A. Veruca Salt." Esther watched as she held up her golden ticket with both hands in front of her, as though she wanted to prove her point that she had one and the others didn't.

"Soon as my little Veruca told me she had to have one of these golden tickets, I started buying up all the Wonka bars I could lay my hands on. Thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands. I'm in the nut business, you see. So I say to my workers, 'Morning, ladies. From now on you can stop shelling peanuts and start shelling the wrappers off these chocolate bars instead.' Three days went by and we had no luck. Oh, it was terrible. My little Veruca got more and more upset each day." The girls father said and Esther was stunned, the girl did nothing. She whined and made her father do it! "Well, gentlemen, I just hated to see my little girl feeling unhappy like that. I vowed I would keep up the search until I could give her what she wanted. And finally, I found her a ticket." the man smiled.

"She's even worse than the fat boy." Grandpa George stated and Esther nodded her head.

"I don't think that was really fair. She didn't find the ticket herself." Charlie said.

"I was thinking the same thing." Esther told him and sighed.

"Don't worry about it." Grandpa Joe said softly. "That man spoils his daughter. And no good ever comes from spoiling a child like that."

"Charlie, your Mum and I thought. . . maybe you wanna open your birthday present tonight." their father said nervously. Esther smiled softly but she knew the chance of him winning was very low but she wasn't going to say it out loud. She wanted him to have one and it was true that everyone had a chance but still...

"Here you are." their mother said and handed him the wrapped up chocolate bar. Charlie looked at everyone and he worried his lip.

"Maybe I should wait til morning." he said quietly and looked at his sister who smiled gently.

"Like hell!" Grandpa George cursed and Esther stifled a chuckle.

"Pop!" their dad said disapproving.

"All together, we're three hundred and eighty-one years old. We don't wait." Grandpa Joe said to Charlie more gently.

"Now, Charlie, you musn't feel too disappointed, you know, if you don't get the..." their mother trailed off and bit her thumb nail. Charlie smiled.

"Whatever happens you still have the candy." Esther said and Charlie nodded his head. Charlie took a breath and slowly wripped the wrapper off and then slipped his thumb under the silver foil and wripped off the wrapping. Their was no gold. Esther smiled sadly at him.

"Ah, well that's that." Grandpa George said and looked away.

"We'll share it." Charlie said and made their mother and Esther smile. Charlie was such a generous boy even though he didn't have much. It was truly an admirable trait.

"Oh no Charlie, not your birthday present." Grandpa Joe shook his head.

"It's my candy bar and I'll do want I want with it." he said firmly and started to break pieces off and hand it to them all. Everyone thanked him and Grandma Josaphine even smelled it, making Esther smile. She wanted so much for her little brother, he really deserved something good to happen to him. He deserved the best life as he was everything those spoilt kids who had already gotten the tickets weren't. It was unfair but just the way life was.

* * *

Esther sighed. She had just finished brushing her hair when the door was opened and a gust of wind came in and messed it all up again. "Sorry Ess" Charlie apologised and she just waved her hand.

"Alright, let's see who found it." Grandpa Joe said curiously and Charlie unfolded the newspaper that he had under his arm.

"The third ticket was found by Miss Violet Beauregarde." their father read over his son's shoulder and Esther stopped brushing her hair to pay attention. She pulled it into a quick bun and ran to the TV. Hopefully they were on the news.

"Aha, here it is." she shouted and they all sat down. They all saw what looked like two look-a-likes. They both had short blonde hair and pale skin. They were in the same outfit as well.

"These are just some of the two hundred and sixty-three trophies and medals my Violet has won." the mother boasted with a smile and the camera moved to where there were some shelves and lots of awards and medals sat upon them.

"I'm a gum chewer, mostly, but when I heard about these ticket things I laid off the gum, switched to candy bars." Violet said, chewing some gum loudly.

"She's just a driven young woman. I don't know where she gets it." Mrs. Beauregarde said with a sickening sweet smile.

"I'm the Junior World Champion Gum Chewer. This piece of gum, I'm chewing right at this moment, I've been working on for three months solid. That's a record." Violet said smugly and Esther wrinkled her nose. The gum would be horrible by now. No taste or anything.

"Of course, I did have my share of trophies, mostly baton." the mother said and held up her hands to a trophy on the wall.

"So it says that one kid's gonna get this special prize, better than all the rest. I don't care who those other four are. That kid, it's gonna be me." Violet said, smacking the gum.

"Tell them why Violet." her mother said to her.

"Because I'm a winner." Violet said looking superior. Esther narrowed her eyes, she so did not like this girl.

"What a beastly girl." Grandma Josaphine grumbled.

"Despicable." Grandma Georgina said.

"You don't know what we're talking about." her husband accused. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Dragonflies?" Esther giggled and winked at Charlie who grinned back. She loved her crazy grandma.

"But wait, this is just in. The fourth golden ticket has been found by a boy called Mike Teavee." the man on the TV said and they all turned back to the TV.

"All you had to do was track the manufacturing dates, offset by the weather and the derivative of the Nikkei Index. A retard could figure it out." the boy said. He had black hair and was sat crossed legged on the floor playing a video game, his mother and father stood behind him.

"Most of the time I don't know what he's talking about. You know, kids these days, what with all the technology. . ." his father trailed off and they all looked at the boy who was now screaming at the television.

"Die! Die! Die!"

"Doesn't seem like they stay kids for very long." Mr Teavee said, shrugging and Esther snorted. Mike killed someone on the screen and paused the game.

"In the end, I only had to buy one candy bar." he admitted and looked at the press people.

"And how did it taste?" the press man asked and held out his microphone. Mike shrugged and looked bored.

"I don't know. I hate chocolate." he said and Esther gaped. Did he just say that?

"Well, it's a good thing you're going to a chocolate factory, you ungrateful little ba. . ." Grandpa George ranted but their father ran to Charlie and covered his ears. He smiled up at him and Esther widened her eyes at some of the colourful things her grandpa was saying. She chuckled under her breath and he finished his rant by punching the blanket.

"That question is, who will be the winner of the last gold. . ." Esther turned off the TV and Charlie was able to hear again and he looked up at his father curiously.

"Hey dad?"

"Yep?"

"Why aren't you at work?" he asked and their dad hesitated.

"Oh, well, er, the toothpaste factory thought they'd give me a bit of time off." he eventually said and Esther sighed, knowing what he really meant.

"Like summer vacation?" Charlie asked, completely oblivious.

"Yeah..." their dad said awkwardly. "Something like that." Esther sighed and looked away. In fact, it wasn't like a vacation at all. The upswing in candy sales had led to a rise in cavities, which led to a rise in toothpaste sales. With the extra money, the factory had decided to modernise, eliminating her father's job.

"Come on Charlie, bed." Esther said and led her and Charlie up to bed. They bid them all goodnight and clambered into the bed and they fell asleep almost straight away. When Charlie woke up he noticed Esther still in bed. She didn't have work today so she had decided she would sleep a little longer. Charlie got up and looked out of the hole in the roof and saw his parents stood talking near the gate. He couldn't hear what they were saying though. He sighed and walked down the stairs and was stopped by his Grandpa Joe.

"Charlie. My secret hoard. You and I, are going to have one more fling. . . at finding that last ticket." he whispered.

"Are you sure you want to spend your money on that, Grandpa?" Charlie asked.

"Of course I'm sure. Here. Run down to the nearest store, and buy the first Wonka candy bar you see. Bring it straight back, and we'll open it together." Grandpa Joe said and handed him the money. He watched as Charlie ran out of the house. "Such a good boy, really. Ah, such a good. . ." he trailed off and fell asleep. He woke abruptly to see Charlie shaking him awake.

"Grandpa? You fell asleep." Charlie said gently.

"Have you got it?" Charlie nodded. "Which end should we open first?" his granpda said curiously and looked at the bar of chocolate.

"Just do it quick, like a band-aid." Charlie suggested. Grandpa Joe wripped off the wrapper and the looked on in disappointment at just the candy.

"Ah well, that's that." he said and handed it to Charlie.

"Don't you want some?"

Grandpa Joe shook his head. "Go share it with your sister." he said and Charlie smiled and ran up the stairs.

* * *

"Did you see that some kid in Russia found the last golden ticket?"

"Yes, it was in the paper this morning."

"Good boy. Come on George. Good boy." Charlie looked on as the two men and the dog left the shop and went up to the counter.

"One Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight, please." he said politely.

"Okay. Here." the shop keeper said and handed him the bar and he handed over the money and started to tear off the wrapper.

"The nerve of some people." he heard a woman say beside him.

"I know. Forging a ticket. Come on." the shop keeper said and snorted. He turned around and looked at Charlie and his mouth fell open. "It's a golden ticket. You found Wonka's last golden ticket. In my shop too!" He had an excited grin on his face. The woman looked over and bent down to him.

"Listen. I'll buy it from you. I'll give you fifty dollars, and a new bicycle." a man said from behind.

"Are you crazy? I'd give him five-hundred dollars for that ticket. You wanna sell me your ticket for five-hundred dollars, young man?" the woman said, smiling creepily at him.

The shop keeper glared at them. "That's enough of that. Leave the kid alone. Listen, don't let anyone have it. Take it straight home. You understand?" Charlie nodded his head and ran from the shop and all the way home. He ran in the house and slammed the door shut.

"Mom! Dad! Esther! I found it! The last golden ticket! It's mine!" he shouted as he entered the house and handed it to his grandpa.

"Yippee! Here. Read it aloud. Let's hear exactly what it says." Grandpa Joe said as he shot out of bed and handed it to his son-in-law. Esther moved forward so she could hear better. Her father dropped the wood he was holding and grabbed the ticket and read it so they could all hear what it said.

_'Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this golden ticket, from Mr Willy Wonka. I shake you warmly by the hand. For now, I do invite you to come to my factory and be my guest for one whole day. I, Willy Wonka, will conduct you around the factory myself, showing you everything there is to see. Afterwards, when it is time to leave, you will be escorted home by a procession of large trucks, each filled with all the chocolate you could ever eat. And remember, one of you lucky five children will receive an extra prize beyond your wildest imagination. Now, here are your instructions. On the first of February, you must come to the factory gates at ten a.m. sharp. You're allowed to bring one member of your family to look after you. Until then, Willy Wonka.' _It said.

"The first of February. But that's tomorrow." their mother said worriedly.

"Then there's not a moment to lose. Wash your face, comb your hair, scrub your hands, brush your teeth, blow your nose." Grandpa Joe said excitedly, making Esther smile.

"And get that mud off your pants." Grandpa George added.

"Now we must all try and keep very calm. First thing that we have to decide is this: Who is going, with Charlie, to the factory?" their mother said and looked around the room.

"Esther should do it." Grandma Josaphine said. Esther shook her head.

"No, I know for a fact Grandpa Joe would love to go there again." she argued. Even though she was right Grandpa Joe decided he wanted her to go.

"I have been there once. You haven't." he said. "I would want you both to go."

"No." Charlie said suddenly. "We're not going. A woman offered me five-hundred dollars for the ticket. I bet someone else would pay more. We need the money more than we need the chocolate." Esther smiled softly albeit sadly.

"Young man, come here." Grandpa George said and crooked a finger. Charlie walked over to his side of the bed. "There's plenty of money out there. They print more every day. But this ticket, there's only five of them in the whole world, and that's all there's ever going to be. Only a dummy would give this up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?" Esther smiled, she knew he would go now.

"No sir." Charlie said softly.

"Then get that mud off your pants. You've got a factory to go to."


	2. Augustus Gloop

**Chapter 2**

**Agustus Gloop**

The next morning Esther woke up slightly earlier than she would have from the excitement. She got up and decided she would get ready straight away so she didn't gave to rush around at the last minute and be late. She got washed and went back to the room and pulled out some clothes that she didn't wear unless for something important as she didn't want to ruin them and she couldn't wash them all the time. She pulled out an emerald green dress and pulled it on over her head. It came just above her knees and was pretty simple. It was a strapless dress that was tight around the chest and flowed down. She slipped on some black slippers and brushed through her hair and let it flow down her back.

She put in some simple earrings and smiled at her reflection. She didn't need make-up. She was already beautiful without it, but she couldn't help but feel plain. She shrugged it off and put it to the back of her mind. She looked at the clock and saw it was 9.17 am. She got up and shook her brother awake. She walked down stairs and waited for him to be ready and slipped on a black jacket. When everyone was ready they slowly walked to the factory. Their parents had decided to come with them and see them off. She stood in a line with the others who were already here, so she stood right at the end of the line.

She looked up at the factory and smiled slightly and felt Charlie grab her hand. Charlie was essentially a very shy boy and she knew this could be too much for him, she hope it wasn't. She looked to her left as she heard a little girl talk rather rudely to her father. "Daddy, I want to go in." she was saying. She recognised her as Veruca Salt.

"It's 9.59 sweetheart." her father responded weakly.

"Make time go faster." she snapped and Esther's eyes widened. Did she really just say that to her father? What a rude girl! She looked further down the line and saw that the other's were quietly talking to each other and turned to look back at the factory.

"Please enter." a voice suddenly boomed. Everyone looked forward and saw the gates opening and slowly started to enter. Well, Veruca seemed to be dragging her father. "Come forward." the voice said again and the did as it said. "Close the gates." Esther looked back when she heard the gates closing. They all stopped in a line and looked up at the metal doors. "Dear visitors, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to my humble factory. And who am I? Well. . ." suddenly the doors slid open and rather funky music started to play making Esther smile. She looked up to see what looked like a puppet show.

_"Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, The amazing chocolatier. Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, Everybody give a cheer! Hooray! He's modest, clever and so smart, He barely can restrain it."_ they sang and the dolls were spinning around. Esther bobbed her head in time with the music and totally unaware of the person stood beside her._ "With so much generosity, there is no way to contain it! To contain it! To contain, to contain, to contain! Hooray! __Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, He's the one that you're about to meet. Willy Wonka, Willy Wonka, He's the genius who just can't be beat. __The magician and the chocolate whiz. The best darn guy who ever lived. Willy Wonka, here he is! The amazing chocolatier." _

Esther stopped swaying to the music and watched as the sparks that had come when a large red chage popped up started to set the dolls on fire. She couldn't help it; she laughed. "Wasn't that just magnificent? I was worried it was getting a little dodgy in the middle part, but then that finale. . . Wow!" a voice said excitedly beside her and they all turned to look. Stood beside her was a man. He had brown hair that was set in a bob and he had on a large black jacket and a top hat. He also had weird bug like glasses on his face. His skin was very pale as though he had not been in sunlight in a long time. "Did you enjoy it?" he asked Esther excitedly.

"Very much so." she responded with a grin.

"Who are you?" Violet asked, rather rudely in Esther's opinion.

"He's Willy Wonka." Esther smiled as he walked to the front.

"Really?" Charlie asked awed. Esther only knew because her Grandpa Joe had described him to her before. Willy Wonka looked down upon them nervously.

"Good morning, starshine. The earth says hello." Willy Wonka said with a strained smile, nervousness clear in his voice. Esther and Charlie looked at each other while everyone else looked confused and a little shocked. Willy gulped and Esther stifled a chuckle when he pulled out some cue cards. He had obviously prepared for this; Incase he screwed up. "Dear guests, greetings. Welcome to the factory. I shake you warmly by the hand." When he said this he held out his hand. She felt bad that no one came forward and he looked disappointed and more nervous. She took a breath and walked forward and grabbed his hand. He looked shocked but smiled slightly and everyone else just looked at her. She stepped back in line. "My name is Willy Wonka." he ended.

"Then shouldn't you be up there?" Veruca said and pointed to where the puppets where. Willy looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I couldn't very well watch the show from up there, now, could I, little girl?"

"Mr Wonka, I don't know if you'll remember, but my Grandpa Joe used to work here in the factory." Esther said, trying to get a more relaxing atmosphere. Too bad she picked the wrong conversation.

"Was he one of those despicable spies who every day tried to steal my life's work and sell it to those parasitic copy-cat, candy making cads?" Willy asked tightly.

"No sir." she said quickly and sincerely. Willy smiled widely at her now.

"Then wonderful. I hope he's well. Let's get a move on, kids." he said and turned around.

"Don't you want to know our names?" Agustus said around a mouthful of chocolate.

"Can't imagine how it would matter." Willy muttered, not bothering to even turn around and just continued inside. "Come quickly. Far too much to see. Just drop your coats anywhere." he said as he took off his coat and threw it on the ground. Esther slipped out of her jacket and placed it next to his and straightened up. Esther frowned, why was it so hot in here?

"Mr Wonka? Sure is toasty in here." Mr. Teavee said as though he had read her mind. Willy didn't seem to be paying attention as he was taking off his goggles.

"What?" he murmured as he turned around and Esther got a view of his eyes. At first she thought they were black but then she realised they were a dark shade of purple. How strange. "Oh, yeah. I have to keep it warm in here, because my workers are used to an extremely hot climate. They just can't stand the cold."

"Who are the workers?" Charlie asked shyly. Willy looked at him and smiled slightly.

"All in good time." he said and looked at Esther before walking ahead. "Now..." he was suddenly cut off by gasping and he had a revolted look on his face as Violet suddenly latched herself onto his hip and hugged him. Esther wondered if maybe he just didn't like touch or maybe it was just the girl.

"Mr Wonka, I'm Violet Beauregarde." she said, snapping her gum.

"Oh? I don't care." he said and the look on his face said exactly that. She let go and he quickly carried on walking but it seemed as though she wasn't giving up.

"Well, you should care. Because I'm the girl that's gonna win the special prize at the end." she said with a small smug smile on her face. Willy didn't look at her.

"Well, you do seem confident, and confidence is key." he said and Violet looked at her mother with a huge smile and her mother gave her an encouraging smile. Veruca didn't seem to like her being in the spotlight and ran in front of Mr. Wonka and curtsied. He gasped again and stepped back slightly. Esther now realised it was touch, she was too close. How strange.

"I'm Veruca Salt. It's very nice to meet you, sir." she said with a fake smile and fake politeness.

"I always thought that a veruca was a type of wart you got on the bottom of your foot. Ha!" he laughed once and Veruca's smile slid off her face and Esther chuckled quietly but Charlie and Willy heard her.

"I'm Augustus Gloop. I love your chocolate." Agustus said as he stepped in front of him and took a huge bite out off the chocolate bar he had in his hand and he still had chocolate all over his face. Willy looked him up and down before he answered with slight sarcasm and disgust in his voice.

"I can see that. So do I. I never expected to have so much in common." He took a step forward and narrowed his eyes before turning around fully. "You. . . you're Mike Teavee. You're the little devil who cracked the system." He had a slight sarcastic smirk on his face. He then turned to Charlie. "And you. Well, you're just lucky to be here, aren't you?" _True, _thought Esther. He then looked at the adults and frowned slightly. "And the rest of you must be their. . ."

He seemed to be stuck on the word and it was like it was trying to come out of his mouth but he was trying to hold it back. Mr. Salt and Mrs. Beauregarde looked particulary freaked out. "Parents." Mr. Salt said slowly and put his hands on his daughters shoulder.

"Yeah." he said slightly relieved. "Mom's and dad's." Esther didn't know if she was right or wrong but he looked rather sad at this moment. "You." he said suddenly to Esther.

"Yes?"

"You don't look like his ... yeah." he stammered. Esther laughed lightly.

"I'm not, I'm his older sister." she said and she didn't know if it was her imagination but he looked slightly relieved. She shook it off and followed him as he turned and started to walk again. "Let's move along." Esther looked around the group and her eyes fell on the two little girls that were eyeing each other.

"Let's be friends." Veruca said and it didn't look like she meant it.

"Best friends." Violet smiled fakely and they linked arms and turned back to the front with faces stoney. As they continued to walk down the hall Esther and everyone else noticed that it was getting smaller and smaller and when they got to the end they had to bend down.

"An important room, this. After all, it is a chocolate factory." Willy told them.

"Then why is the door so small?" Mike asked rudely but Willy Wonka didn't seem to be bothered by the tone.

"That's to keep all the great big chocolaty flavour inside." he laughed and pulled out a key ring with a bunch of keys on and quickly looked through them and got the right key. He put it in the key hole and slowly turned it. " Now, do be careful, me dear children." he told them as he lead them inside and Esther's eyes widened. "Don't lose your heads. Don't get overexcited. Just keep very calm." The whole room looked like it was something from a fairytale. What with all the bright colours and waterfall and all.

"It's beautiful." Charlie said, mostly to himself. Willy looked back at him.

"What?" he looked at Esther. "Oh yeah, it's very beautiful." He turned back around and Esther noticed the boy, Agustus, had dropped his candy bar on the floor and snapped it in half as he stood on it when they walked further inside the magnificent room. "Every drop of the river, is hot, melted chocolate of the finest quality. The waterfall is most important. Mixes the chocolate. Churns it up. Makes it light and frothy." he explained as they came to a bridge and looked out at the chocolate waterfall. Esther smiled slightly as he described it with his hands. "By the way… no other factory in the world, mixes it's chocolate by waterfall, my dear children. And you can take that to the bank." he said with a proud grin.

Esther had to admit, he was a genius and she wondered how he came up with it all. They walked over the bridge and everyone was still looking around in awe. "People." Willy called and they turned back around and saw him pointing to something in the air that had a huge pipe hanging down from it. "Those pipes… suck up the chocolate, and carry it away, all over the factory." he said with a wave of his hands. "Thousands of gallons an hour. Yeah. And do you like my meadow? Try some of my grass. Please have a blade. Please do. It's so delectable and so darn good-looking." he said with an adorable grin and held his cane in both of his hands.

"You can eat the grass?" Charlie asked shocked. Esther was a little proud of him because he normally didn't speak up much.

"Of course you can." Willy said a little childishly and leaned forward. "Everything in this room is edible. Even I'm edible. But that is called cannibalism, my dear children, and is, in fact frowned upon in most societies. Yeah." Esther bit her lip to stop from laughing. "Enjoy. Go on. Scoot, scoot." He motioned them with his hand to leave and Agustus shot off like a rocket. Everyone split up and Esther watched the little interaction between Willy Wonka and Mr. Salt. He was staring at Mr. Wonka with a curious yet weirded expression and Willy was just staring at him. Mr. Salt got a little bit too freaked out because he stepped back and walked away. She watched as Mr. Wonka smirked and let out a little 'heh'. She chuckled and turned around and went to a tree. She reached up and tried to pluck one of the candy apples from it but found herself too short.

She gasped when suddenly a hand came from behind her and plucked it down from the tree. She turned around and saw Mr. Wonka standing behind her with a smile on his face and the apple in his hand. He chucked it in the air once and caught it before he passed it to her. She smiled in thanks and watched as he picked his own. "So..." he said awkwardly.

"So." She took a bit out of the candy apple and smiled at the wonderful taste.

"How do you like it?" he asked somewhat nervously.

"It's amazing." she said. "And so is this room." He smiled at her and took a bit of his own apple. "Must have taken time to do this." He shrugged slightly. "How did you come up with the waterfall? Or is that me asking too much?"

"Nope." he said. "But it just came to me one day."

"Like all your other great ideas?"

"Great?" he parroted and she smiled shyly.

"Heh." he laughed and took another bite of the apple.

"Daddy, look over there." they heard Veruca say and they turned to see where she was. "What is it? It's a little person. Over there, by the waterfall." Esther turned to see what she was going on about and saw a little man in a red leather looking suit, with his black hair pulled back tight in some weird hairstyle. Willy waved his hand and motioned her to follow him and they walked towards Veruca.

"There's two of them." Mrs Beauregarde said as she squinted to look up to where they were.

"There's more than two." Mr. Teavee pointed out.

"Where do they come from?" Mrs Gloop asked in her thick German accent. She had some kind of chocolate in her hand as she talked.

"Who are they?" Charlie asked as he met up with his sister.

"Are they real people?" Mike asked rudely and seemed to be scowling up at them. But then again he always looked like that.

"Of course they're real people. They're Oompa-Loompas." Willy said a little offended.

"Oompa Loompas?" Esther frowned and looked at him.

He nodded his head. "Imported, direct from Loompaland."

"There's no such place." Mr. Teavee said as he looked at the little people.

"What?" Willy said sharply and turned towards the man. Mr. Teavee seemed to sigh as he turned to look and Mr. Wonka.

"Mr Wonka, I teach high-school geography, and I'm here to tell you…" Thankfully Willy saved them all from a horrible lesson they would have had to hear from Mr. Teavee and got a story from him instead. Esther and Charlie listened with rapt attention. He always had the funniest things to say.

"Well, then you'll know all about it, and, oh, what a terrible country it is." he said and scowled at Mr. Teavee, who then taken aback. "The whole place is nothing but think jungles infested by the most dangerous beasts in the entire world. Hornswogglers and snozzwangers and those terrible, wicked whangdoodles." Esther bit her lip but a small chuckle escaped her lips anyway. Willy's lips twitched. "I went to Loompaland looking for exotic new flavours for candy. Instead, I found the Oompa-Loompas. They lived in tree houses to escape from the fierce creatures who lived below. The Oompa-Loompas ate nothing but green caterpillars, which tasted revolting. The Oompa-Loompas kept looking for other things to mash up with the caterpillars to make them taste better. Red beetles, the bark of the bong-bong tree. All of them beastly, but not quite so beastly as the caterpillars. But the food they longed for the most was the cocoa bean. An Oompa-Loompa was lucky if he found three or four cocoa beans a year. But, oh, how they craved them. All they'd ever think about was cocoa beans. The cocoa bean happens to be the thing from which chocolate is made, so I told the chief… Come live in my factory. You can have all the cocoa beans you want! I will even pay your wages in cocoa beans if you wish!"

He smiled happily, if not a little dreamily. Well, that was a story. "They are such wonderful workers. I feel I must warn you, though, they are rather mischievous. Always making jokes." he said with a mysterious smile. Esther smiled and looked back up at the Oompa Loompas. The silence was then broken by Mrs. Gloop.

"Augustus, my child, that is not a good thing you do!" Everyone turned around to see Agustus bending down and holding himself up with one hand as he scooped some of the chocolate from the river into his mouth with the other. Willy grimaced and stepped forward.

"Hey, little boy. My chocolate must be untouched by human hands." he warned and Esther thought she saw his eye twitch in annoyance when he suddenly fell in. It did serve him right as he had just told him not to do it and he goes back for more. But then she felt slightly bad when his mother cried out and begged for her son to be saved because he couldn't swim. Willy Wonka ignored the mother's attempts and Esther would have been angry and disappointed in him if she didn't realise what he had planned on doing. She seemed to be the only one that had seen him sneek a peak up at the pipe he had explained about fifteen minutes ago.

The pipe descended into the chocolate river and started to suck the chocolate up into the machine. It created a whirl pool and she watched in awe and slight horror as Agustus was sucked round and round until he was eventually sucked up into the pipe. "There he goes." Violet murmured.

"Call the fire brigade!" Mrs Gloop cried out in despair and Esther rolled her eyes slightly.

"It's a wonder how that pipe is big enough." Violet's mother said to herself.

"It isn't big enough. He's slowing down." Charlie said with his eyes wide. And he was correct, Agustus was slowing down in the pipe and was slowly blocking it.

"He's going to stick." Mike mumbled.

"I think he has." his dad agreed. Willy Wonka did not seem bothered at all, Esther noted.

"He's blocked the whole pipe." Mr Salt murmured in slight disbelief. They could all see Agustus trying to move his arms as they seemed to be trapped be his side. Esther shuddered, she hated not being able to move her arms.

"Look. The Oompa-Loompas." Charlie called out and pointed towards the river bank.

"What are they doing?" Veruca asked as she continued to lick on that lolly she had in her hand. Mr. Wonka smiled dreamily.

"Why, I believe they're going to treat us to a little song. It is quite a special occasion of course. They haven't had a fresh audience in many a moon." Esther frowned but looked up curiously towards the Oompa Loompas who had started to set up a beat and was running around.

_Augustus Gloop, Augustus Gloop, The great big, greedy nincompoop.  
__ Augustus Gloop, so big and vile, So greedy, foul and infantile.  
'Come on!' we cried __the time is ripe, To sent him shooting up the pipe!'  
But don't, dear children, be alarmed, Augustus Gloop will not be harmed, Augustus Gloop will not __be harmed.  
Although, of course, we must admit, He will be altered quite a bit.  
Slowly wheels go round and round, And cogs begin to grind and pound,_  
_This greedy brute, this louse's ear, Is loved by people everywhere, For who could hate or bear a grudge, Against a luscious bit if fudge?_

The song ended and Agustus shot up the pipe and into the metal machine that filled with the chocolate afterwards. Esther had a small smile on her face. She liked that song. "Bravo! Well done! Aren't they delightful? Aren't they charming?" Willy said excitedly and clapping his hands.

"A bit." Esther muttered and smiled shyly. Willy smiled joyfully back at her but it dropped when Mr. Salt decided to speak.

"I do say, that all seemed rather rehearsed."

"Like they knew it was going to happen." Mike added. Willy pursed his lips.

"Oh, poppycock." he scoffed and turned around.

"Where is my son? Where does that pipe go to?" Mrs Gloop demanded and stopped Willy from walking and taking a step back.

"That pipe?" he said and paused before speaking again. "That pipe, it just so happens to lead directly to the room where I make the most delicious kind of strawberry flavoured, chocolate-coated fudge." he said with a happy grin. Mrs. Gloop's eyes widened and she went pale before stuttering out her response.

"Then he will be made into strawberry flavoured, chocolate-coated fudge. They'll be selling him by the pound all over the world?" Mr Wonka wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"No. I wouldn't allow it. The taste would be terrible. Can you imagine Augustus-flavoured, chocolate coated Gloop? Ew. No-one would buy it." he said in a know-it-all tone and ignored Mrs Gloop's offending expression and tried not to smile when he heard Esther snort in amusement. He made a funny sound and waited a few second before an Oompa Loompa came over. Now that one of the workers were up close they finally managed to see just how small they were. Barely up to their knees. "I want you to take Mrs Gloop up to the fudge room, okay? Help her find her son. Take a long stick and start poking around in the big chocolate-mixing barrel, kay?" he said as he motioned what he said with his cane.

"Mr Wonka?" Charlie suddenly piped up and he stood up and turned to face him.

"Yeah?"

"Why would Augustus' name already be in the Oompa-Loompa song, unless. . .?" Mr Wonka cut him off.

"Improvisation is a parlour trick. Anyone can do it." he said and turned to Violet. "You, little girl. Say something. Anything."

"Chewing gum." she said automatically.

"Chewing gum is really gross. Chewing gum I hate the most." he said in a slight singing voice. "See, exactly the same."

"No it isn't." Mike sneered.

"Er, you really shouldn't mumble. Because I can't understand a word you're saying." he said and smiled mockingly at him. "On with the tour." he said and turned around with them all following him.


	3. Violet Beauregarde

**Chapter three**

**Violet Beauregarde**

Mr Wonka walked them back over the bridge and further in the chocolate room. They came to a stop and Esther watched in awe as a huge pink boat came floating up the river which looked like a seahorse. It held quite a few Oompa-Loompa's, but this time in blue. The boat came to a stop and the Oompa Loompa's suddenly started to giggle for some unknown reason. Violet asked the question they were all thinking.

"What's so funny?" she said, smacking her gum and sneering.

"I think it's from all those doggone cocoa beans." Willy Wonka said, nodding his head slightly with a small smile on his face. Esther smiled, he seemed to love these little guys. But then again, they had been his only companions for over fifteen years. "Hey, by the way, did you guys know that chocolate contains a property that triggers the release of endorphins? Gives one the feeling of being in love." he said and held up his hand. He looked briefly at Esther but then got a freaked out and slightly revolted look on his face when Violet's mother decided to speak.

"You don't say." she said in a breathy voice and with a seductive smile. He swallowed and laughed nervously.

"All aboard." He looked away and wrinked his nose. They all climbed on and he helped Esther get on as she was looked cautiously at the river and he decided she looked like she needed some help. She grabbed the offered hand and smiled shyly at him. He smiled back and climbed in after her. "Onward!" he called to the workers and the boat started to move back the way it came. Esther looked around and smiled. She was in the chocolate factory, riding on a seahorse boat! She did not expect that at all. Wonderful way to travel though, she thought. Willy grabbed a pink ladel and dipped it into the river and handed it to Esther. "Try some of this. It'll do you good. You look starved to death."

Esther grabbed it and made sure not to drip any of it on her and took a sip. She smiled gratefully and handed it to Charlie. "It's great!" he exclaimed and put it on the floor of the boat. Willy smiled.

"That's because it's mixed by waterfall." he said and then looked to everyone. "The waterfall is most important. Mixes the chocolate, churns it up, makes it light and frothy." Esther frowned but smiled slightly. Didn't he already say this? "Oh, by the way, no other factory in the world. . ."

"You already said that." Veruca interrupted him rather rudely. Willy froze and everyone just stared at him, she felt bad for him. He clenched his fist and it made a squeaking sound. He sat back and took a breath.

"You're all quite short, aren't you?" he said and Esther smiled. Nice comeback.

"Well yeah, we're children." Violet sneered. Did she always sneer? Esther thought.

"Well, that's no excuse." Willy mocked lightly. "I was never as short as you."

"You were once." Mike said with a bored look on his face, again.

"Was not." he countered and leaned forward. "Know why? Because I distinctly remember putting a hat on top of my head. Look at your short little arms. You could never reach." He had a small smug smile of his face and grabbed his cane.

"Do you even remember what it was like being a kid?" Charlie asked suddenly and Willy smiled.

"Oh boy do I!" His smiled suddenly dropped and he frowned. "Do I?" Esther frowned and wondered if he was ok. He looked like he was reliving some bad memory and had a far away look in his eyes. Suddenly everything was getting darker and she looked forward to see a large tunnel that was very dark. She was okay with the dark but when it was pitch black and she couldn't see couldn't see anything she got a little freaked out. She gulped and grabbed Mr Wonka's hand and gently shook it.

"Mr Wonka? Mr Wonka? We're headed for a tunnel." she said and he blinked.

"Oh yeah." he said slightly dazed. "Full speed ahead." It seemed thay Willy had only just realised that she was holding his hand as he looked down and noticed that she was squeezing it slightly. She must be a little scared, he thought. He smiled slightly but didn't chuck her hand off.

"How can they see where they're going?" Violet asked.

"They can't. There's no knowing where they're going." he said mysteriously. "Switch on the lights!" Suddenly lights were on creating a bluish glow around the place. Suddenly the boat had started to speed up and it came to a kind of drop and everyone flew back in their seats and their hair was flying behind them. "People, keep an eye out. We're passing some very important rooms here." he said as they slowed down. Everyone looked around as they passed different rooms. Mrs Beauregarde frowned and twisted in her seat and looked at Mr. Wonka. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Mr. Wonka and Esther holding hands.

"What do you use hair cream for?" she asked as she looked up at him.

"To lock in moisture." he giggled and primped his hair with his other hand. Esther smiled and Mrs Beauregarde turned around slightly freaked out.

"Whipped cream." Charlie and Esther said as they passed a door that was open and saw a cow being whipped. Willy looked at them and smiled slightly before answering.

"Precisely."

"That doesn't make sense." Veruca said snootily and Willy narrowed his eyes at her.

"For your information, little girl. . . whipped cream isn't whipped cream at all unless it's been whipped with whips. Everybody knows that." he sneered and sat back in his seat and Veruca turned around a little offended. The boat got faster again and it literally spun around on it's side and Esther squeezed his hand unconsciously and he smiled. "Stop the boat. I wanna show you guys something." he said excitedly and the boat slowly came to a stop outside a room that had the words 'Inventing Room' above it. Willy helped her out of the boat and they all walked inside. "Now, this is the most important room in the entire factory. Now, everyone, enjoy yourselves, but just don't. . . touch anything. Okay? Go on. Go on, scoot." he said and waved his hands.

They all split up and ran in different directions. Esther walked slowly by herself to some weird machine that she had no idea what it did but it looked interesting. She felt a presence and turned around to see Willy stood beside her. "What do you think?" he asked nervously.

"It's all strange I must admit." she smiled. "But it all seems really interesting." He smiled and started to explain a bunch of the machines to her and she was rather surprised, even though she shouldn't be at some of the things he had come up with. He seemed really happy when he was explaining it all and it made her smile.

"Hey, Mr Wonka, what's this?" Violet called out some time later and interrupted them. Esther was surprised that Violet had not said it in a rude way. They walked over to what looked like a big tank.

"Oh, let me show you." Willy said and an Oompa Loompa rose to the top of the water and handed him a red ball. "Thank you. These are Everlasting Gobstoppers. They're for children who are given very little allowance money. You can suck on it all year, and it'll never get any smaller. Isn't that neat?" He smiled at his accomplishment. Esther smiled and nodded her head, something he caught.

"It's like gum." Violet said and Esther frowned. How did she get gum out of that? Willy grimaced and had an annoyed look on his face.

"No. Gum is for chewing. And if you tried chewing one of these Gobstoppers, you'd break all your little teeth off. They sure do taste terrific." he trailed off dreamily and looked at the Gobstopper. He motioned them to follow him and they walked towards a workbench. "And this is hair toffee." He held up a square candy. "You suck down one of these little boogers, and in exactly half an hour… a brand new crop of hair will start growing out all over the top of your little noggin. And a mustache. And a beard." Esther smiled at the childish way he said the last two lines.

"Who wants a beard?" Mike drawled.

"Well… beatniks, for one." he said awkwardly. "Folk singers and motorbike riders. You know, all those hip, jazzy, super-cool, neat, keen and groovy cats. It's in the fridge, daddy-o. Are you hep to the jive? Can you dig what I'm laying down? I knew that you could. Slide me some skin, soul brother." he said and held out his hand for Mike to 'slide him some skin'. Mike looked at it and then to Mr Wonka. Who said those things? Esther thought. Mr. Wonka clenched his fist and it made a squeaking sound. "Unfortunately, the mixture isn't quite right yet. Because an Oompa-Loompa tried some yesterday, and, well, he…" he trailed off and looked to his right when an Oompa Loompa walked up to him. Esther snorted in amusement as it looked like cousin it from the Addam's family. "How are you today?" he asked nerovusly and the Oompa Loompa raised his thumbs. "You look great."

The Oompa Loompa shuffled off with hair trailing after him like a train and Willy ran over to another machine. "Watch this." he said excitedly and pulled a lever and ran to the other side of the machine. Suddenly the machine kicked into life and it shook a little. They moved back and watched as it did all these strange things. Esther couldn't get over how he did it. Suddenly a metal slot came out and from the end a piece of gum stook out and Mike looked disgusted.

"You mean that's it?" Willy looked at him and grit his teeth. He looked rather annoyed now.

"Do you even know what 'it' is?" he said tightly.

"It's gum." Violet said as she pulled it off and held it up.

"Yeah. It's a stick of the most amazing and sensational gum in the whole universe. Know why? Know why?" he said getting more excited as he went on. "'Cause this gum is a full three-course dinner all by itself." He giggled nervously at the end. Mr Salt looked rather confused by it and frowned.

"Why would anyone want that?" he asked. Willy opened his mouth to reply but seemed to get stuck and paused. He held up his hand and then reached into his jacket and pulled out the cue cards. Esther smiled.

"It will be the end of all kitchens and all cooking. Just a little strip of Wonka's magic chewing gum and that is," he paused as he switched the cards. "All you will ever need at breakfast, lunch and dinner. This piece of gum happens to be tomato soup, roast beef and blueberry pie." He looked up with a small smile.

"It sounds great." Esther said making his smile widen.

"It sounds weird." Veruca deadpanned and his smile dropped.

"It sounds like my kinda gum." Violet declared and looked at the gum. Willy seemed to know what she was going to do because he stepped forward and looked anxious.

"I, I'd rather you didn't. There's still one or two thing that are. . ."

"I'm the world-record holder in chewing gum. I'm not afraid of anything." she snapped and interrupted him and stuffed it in her mouth. Esther noticed Willy grimace and frown slightly. She frowned herself and wondered what was going to happen.

"How is it, honey?" her mother asked and looked rather smug.

"It's amazing!" Violet declared, her eyes wide as she continued to chew. "Tomato soup. I can feel it running down my throat." Wow, Esther thought.

"Yeah. Spit it out." Willy Wonka said urgently.

"Young lady, I think you'd better. . ." Esther tried but Violet over rode her.

"It's changing. Roast beef with baked potato. Crispy skin and butter."

"Keep chewing, kiddo. My little girl's gonna be the first person in the world to have a chewing-gum meal." Mrs Beauregarde said smugly and smirked at the others in the room. Esther rolled her eyes. Mr Wonka had basically said that it wasn't right and she basically ignored him. Something could happen to her daughter and she didn't seem to care at all. Horrid.

"Yeah. I'm just a little concerned about the. . ."

"Blueberry pie and ice cream." Violet cried happily.

"That part." Willy said and sighed slightly annoyed. It was silent for a second before Veruca interrupted them.

"What's happening to her nose?" Everyone turned to look at the girl properly and sure enough her nose was turning blue.

"It's turning blue." Mr Salt said, pointing out the obvious.

"Your whole nose has gone purple." Violet's mother muttered. Violet held up a perfectly manicured nail and felt her nose as though something was out of place and she might be able to feel it.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked and looked at everyone nervously.

"Violet, you're turning violet. What's happening?" she said and scowled at Mr Wonka.

"Well, I told you I hadn't got it quite right. 'Cause it goes a little funny when it gets to the desert. It's the blueberry pie that does it. I'm terribly sorry." he said earnestly and ducked behind his machine so no one could see him. Everyone watched as her whole body started to turn blue and she slowly started to swell up.

"Mother? What's happening to me?" Violet wailed as she looked back at her now huge bum.

"She's swelling up." Esther said slightly fascinated.

"Like a blueberry." Charlie finished. When she was done swelling up it was all silent until Willy popped up next to Mrs Beauregarde making her flinch.

"I've tried it on, like, twenty Oompa-Loompas, and each one ended up as a blueberry. It's just weird." he said childishly but nervously with a small chuckle at the end. The woman glared hatefully at him.

"But I can't have a blueberry as a daughter. How is she supposed to compete?" Esther was disgusted, was that all she cared about? The answer was simple enough.

"You could put her in a county fair." Veruca muttered cruelly and smirked. Willy grinned at the suggestion but stopped when he saw the look on the blonde woman's face. Suddenly music started to play and everyone looked up to see the Oompa Loompa's singing and dacnig again. This time they were wearing black.

_Yeah, yeah, Yeah, Listen close, and listen hard, To the tale of Violet Beauregarde.  
__This gentle girl, She sees no wrong, In chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, Chewing, chewing all day long.  
Chewing, chewing all day long, Chewing, chewing all day long.  
Chewing, chewing all day .  
She goes on chewing till, at last, Her chewing muscles grow so vast.  
And from her face, Her giant chin, Sticks out like a violin.  
Chewing, chewing all day long.  
Chewing, chewing all day long, Chewing, chewing all day long.  
For years and years she chews away, Her jaws get stronger every day.  
And with one great tremendous chew, They bite the poor girl's tongue in two.  
And that is why we try so hard, To save Miss Violet Beauregarde.  
Chewing, chewing all day long.  
Chewing, chewing all day long.  
Chewing, chewing, chewing, chewing, Chewing, chewing all day long.  
Chewing, chewing all day long, Chewing, chewing all day long, Chewing, chewing all day long._

They stopped singing and had rolled Violet away through the door but she had seemed to have gotten stuck. Esther had to admit, the Oompa Loompas were good. Willy stopped dancing and clapped. "Mr Wonka!" Violet yelled. Mr Wonka seemed to be trying to ignore the look he was getting from the little girl's mother but when he couldn't ignore it any further he called for an Oompa Loompa and bent down to talk to it.

"I want you to roll Miss Beauregarde into the boat and take her along to the juicing room at once, okay?" he instructed and Mrs Beauregarde looked slightly horrified.

"The juicing room? What are they gonna do to her there?"

"They're gonna squeeze her. Like a little pimple." he giggled and then went serious. "We gotta squeeze all that juice out of her immediately."

"Mother, help me. Please." Violet begged desperately and her mother hesitated before she pushed her and helped her get out off the doorway. Everyone else just watched them go and there was some kind of awkward silence. Willy Wonka broke it with his usual cheery voice and smile.

"Come on. Let's boogie." With that they set off to the next part of the tour.


	4. Veruca Salt

**Chapter four**

** Veruca Salt**

Willy Wonka took them down a long corridor that was done in white and had a long red carpet on the floor. There were doors randomly placed down the corridor and nothing else. It was totally empty. "Without the boat, we'll have to move double-time just to keep on schedule. There's far too much to see." Willy told them as he walked a little further ahead than the others. Esther walked with Charlie near the back.

"Mr Wonka?" Charlie said timidly.

Willy Wonka turned around and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Why did you decide to let people in?" he asked shyly and Willy smiled.

"Well, so they could see the factory, of course." he said as though it was obvious but Esther knew what her brother was saying and helped him out.

"But why now? And why only five?" she asked and he turned back around and stopped walking. He looked at her and smiled warmly. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Mike.

"What's the special prize, and who gets it?" he asked rudely. Esther frowned. Why couldn't he just wait til the end? It wasn't something they really needed to know. Willy smirked slightly before he answered.

"The best kind of prize is a sur-prise." he said and giggled and carried on walking. Veruca skipped up to him and walked in step with him.

"Will Violet always be a blueberry?" she asked spitefully. Esther was looking around the hall and wondered where they were going and thinking to herself. How does he not get lost?

"No. Maybe. I don't know." he shrugged. "But that's what you get from chewing gum all day. It's just disgusting." By the look on his face Esther could tell that he meant it.

"If you hate gum so much, why do you make it?" Mike asked and Esther rolled her eyes. Why did he ask these stupid questions all the time? Mr Wonka seemed unfazed though.

"Once again, you really shouldn't mumble. 'Cos it's kinda starting to bum me out." he smiled and Esther smiled aswell. She would have to try this techinque sometime. See if it works for her aswell. At least she knew how he got out of the questions people asked him that he had no answer for.

"Can you remember the first candy you ever ate?" Charlie asked curiously.

"No." Willy said slowly and he seemed to get a dazed look in his eyes. Esther frowned. He seemed to get these flashbacks often and she didn't know if it was healthy. She would have to talk to Charlie about asking personal questions, that's what seems to triger it. Willy seemed to snap out of it and a small dreamy smile flittered on his face. "I'm sorry, I was having a flashback." he said dazedly.

"I see." Mr Salt said, a little freaked out and pulled his daughter away from him. Esther rolled her eyes. What did he think Mr Wonka was going to do? Attack him?

"These flashbacks happen often?" Mr Teavee asked cautiously.

"Increasingly. . . today." he said with a huge smile and motioned them to follow as he walked back down the corridor. They walked for about two minutes before they came to a stop. Above the door it said 'The nut room'. Mr Salt seemed happy.

"Ah, this is a room I know all about. For you see, Mr Wonka, I, myself, am in the nut business." he said and passed him a business card. Willy Wonka didn't even look at it, as soon as he got it he chucked it over his shoulder. No one else noticed except Esther and she laughed softly. Willy heard and turned to face her. He smiled and winked at her, making her blush. "Are you using the Havermax four thousand to do your sorting?" Mr Salt asked and Willy gave him a strange look.

"No. You're really weird." he laughed and walked inside. The room was big and white. There was a big glass ball in the middle of the room and had pipes leading from it and down below. In the centre of the floor was a huge hole that lead to somewhere else. The floor looked like swirls of blue and white and sitting on stools where the nuts lead down to where -

"Squirrels." Veruca exclaimed with a happy smile. It seemed they had something in common. Esther loved animals.

"Yeah. Squirrels." Willy said distractedly as he looked around the room. "These squirrels are specially trained to get the nuts out of shells." Mr Salt looked fascinated as he looked around the room.

"You use squirrels? Why not use Oompa-Loompas?" he asked geniunely curious as he looked at the little animals.

"Because only squirrels can get the whole walnut out almost every single time." he explained. "You see how they tap each one with their little knuckles to make sure it's not bad? Oh, look. Look. I think that one's got a bad nut." He pointed to one of the squirrels that had tapped on a nut and placed it next to it's ear and then threw it over it's head and it rolled down to the huge hole of the floor. Esther was rather intruged and she couldn't help but want to go and pet it.

"Daddy, I want a squirrel. Get me one of those squirrels. I want one." Veruca demanded.

"Veruca, dear, you have many marvelous pets." her father said weakly and looked at her. Veruca scowled at him.

"All I've got at home is one pony and two dogs and four cats and six rabbits and two parakeets and three canaries and a green parrot and a turtle and a silly old hamster. I want a squirrel!" she snapped at him and Esther gaped. She had all of this and she was demanding more. What a spoilt brat. She should be thankul for what she has already.

"All right, pet. Daddy will get you a squirrel just as soon as he possibly can." Mr Salt said and Esther knew that he was trying to avoid asking Mr Wonka for one of his own. Veruca didn't seem to be able to help herself. And Mr Salt didn't seem to have any luck.

"But I don't want any old squirrel, I want a trained squirrel." she demanded and he sighed as though he had given up. Esther grimaced, he didn't even try.

"Very well. Mr Wonka, how much do you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price." he said and Mr Wonka looked up as though he hadn't been listening when clearly he had. Everyone had. Veruca looked up at him with a huge smile as though it would win him over.

"Oh, they're not for sale. She can't have one." he said said slowly with a huge smile of his own. He looked a little smug actually. Veruca's smile dropped and she scowled, anger clear in her eyes and she snapped her head around to her father.

"Daddy." she warned and he looked a little uneasy. He looked as though he wanted to disappear.

"I'm sorry, darling. Mr Wonka's being unreasonable." Mr Wonka said in a voice that sounded scarily like Mr Salt. He even stuck his nose in the air and jutted his chin out. Mr Salt looked offended but Esther giggled and Willy smirked at her. Veruca turned back to her father.

"If you won't get me a squirrel, I'll get one myself." she said in a disappointed voice that Esther thought she had no right to sound like that. Just because for once she had not got what she wanted that didn't mean she had to act like her father had done something terrible to her.

"Veruca." her father called as she slipped through the bars on the gate and started to slowly climb down the metal steps.

"Little girl?" Mr Wonka warned and held up his hand.

"Veruca, come back here at once. Veruca." her father said more strongly but she ignored him. It was his own fault anyway. Veruca looked around as though she was deciding which one to have. To Esther they all looked the same. She started to move forward to one and Mr Wonka stepped forward.

"Little girl? Don't touch that squirrel's nuts. It'll make him crazy." he said and his voice echoed slightly in the room. Veruca stopped and all the squirrels had turned to watch her. She smiled widely and bent down to pick it up.

"I'll have you." she said and suddenly the squirrels went beserk and jumped at her. Esther gasped and her eyes widened. Veruca jumped back and squealed trying to get them off. Esther unconciously grabbed Mr Wonka's arm and he looked at it with a small smile.

"Veruca. Veruca. Veruca!" Mr Salt was screaming his daughters name over and over again. By now Veruca seemed to be strapped to the floor by the animals and she was struggling to get back up. Willy grabbed a key ring from inside his coat with his right hand and started to flip through it. His other hand was now in Esther's hand. She didn't seem to realise, she was watching Veruca in horror and worry.

"Let's find the key." he said and picked a key and tried to unlock it with out success. "Nope. Not that one." he said and flipped through the keys some more.

"Daddy!" Veruca whined and struggled some more.

"Veruca!" her father shouted and gripped the railing and looked down in horror.

"No. There it is. There it isn't." Willy said to himself and looked at Mr Salt with a smile that quickly left his face when he saw the look on the little girl's father's face. He raised his eyebrows and turned away.

"Daddy, I want them to stop." Veruca whined.

"What are they doing?" Charlie asked and they all looked at her. Veruca had ceased struggling and raised her head to see a squirrel sat on her chest and tapped her head with it's knuckled. She squeezed her eyes shut and grunted.

"They're testing to see if she's a bad nut." he said and the squirrel made a noise and Mr Wonka's face fell but there was a slight smile playing around his lips if you look carefully. "Oh, my goodness. She is a bad nut after all." Suddenly all of the squirrels jumped off of her and started to climb underneath her. They all watched as she was slowly carried across the room by the squirrels.

"Veruca!" Mr Salt cried and shook the gate. Veruca's nails were digging into the floor as she tried to stop herself being taken away.

"Daddy!"

"Where are they taking her?" he demanded Wonka.

"Where all the other bad nuts go. To the garbage chute." Willy said with a small frown and nodded his head. Veruca was chucked in the chute and her scream echoed and finally died out.

"Where does the chute go?"

"To the incinerator." he said in slight dazed voice. "But don't worry. We only light it on Tuesdays." he said as though to ease his worry.

"Today is Tuesday." Mike said as though he was a retard and Esther scowled at him. The boy was so rude. Willy Scowled at him slightly before he turned to face the worried father.

"Well, there's always the chance they decided not to light it today." he said hopefully and shrugged. "Now, she may be stuck in the chute just below the top. If that's the case, all you have to do is just reach in and pull her out. Okay?" Mr Salt nodded and Mr Wonka opened the gate and he slowly walked down and Esther noticed that Willy locked the gate again. Why would he do that? She was cut off by this thought when she heard music and watched Oompa Loompa's come out but this time in yellow.

_Veruca Salt the little brute, Has just gone down the garbage chute.  
And she will meet, as she descends, A rather different set of friends.  
A rather different set of friends, A rather different set of friends.  
A fish head, for example, cut, This morning from a halibut.  
An oyster from an oyster stew, A steak that no-one else would chew.  
And lots of other things as well, Each with its rather horrid smell.  
Horrid smell, These are Veruca's newfound friends.  
That she will meet as she descends, These are Veruca's newfound friends.  
Who went and spoiled her, who indeed?  
Who pandered to her every need?  
Who turned her into such a brat?  
Who are the culprits? Who did that?  
The guilty ones, now this is sad, Are dear old Mum and loving Dad._

Esther could help but laugh a little when they song ended and on 'loving dad' the same squirrel that Veruca tried to take come over and pushed him in the chute with his daughter. His screamed echoed and finally they couldn't hear him anymore. Willy smiled at her when he heard her laugh. He liked the fact that she liked the songs and could laugh about it. He looked down when he felt a tug on his coat and bent down, letting go of Esther's hand, who only seemd to realise she was holding his hand and her eyes widened. He stood back up and smiled to the Oompa Loompa.

"Oh, really? Oh, good. I've just been informed that the incinerator's broken. So there should be about three weeks of rotten garbage to break their fall." he said happily and smiled at the rest of the group.

"Well, that's good news." Mr Teavee said sarcastically. Mr Wonka didn't seem to hear it or just ignored it.

"Yeah. Well, let's keep on trucking."


	5. Mike Teavee

**Chapter five**

**Mike Teavee**

They left the nut room and walked down the white hall some more. It was a little quiet and Esther had grown rather uncomfortable with the silence. She so wished that someone would break it so she wasn't that uncomfortable. She sighed and thanked god silently when Willy Wonka broke it just seconds after she wished that.

"I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier. The elevator's by far the most efficient way to get around the factory." he said as they came to a stop at the elevator. It was amazing and somehow made out of glass. They stepped inside and Willy and Esther stood at the back, Charlie and Mike in the middle and Mr Teavee just in front. Mike looked around the glass elevator at all the buttons and frowned.

"There can't be this many floors." he said as he looked at Mr Wonka.

"How do you know, Mr Smarty-Pants?" he mocked slightly. "And this isn't just an ordinary up and down elevator, by the way. This elevator can go sideways, longways, slantways, and any other ways you can think of." Esther's eyes widened when he said that. "You just press any button and, whoosh, you're off." Willy did just that. He pressed a button and the elevator suddenly took off making them all, except Mr Wonka, fly backwards. They went to a room that seemed to be a mountain covered in snow and had Oompa Loompa's stood of the rocks. "Oh, look. Look. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to fudge mountain." Willy said and waved at the Oompa Loompa's who waved back. Esther smiled at them. They were kinda cute.

They came out of that room and they all banged into the sides of the elevator as it stopped and went another way. Of course Mr. Wonka stayed up right, he was obviously used to this. They came to a room where there was pink sheep. The Oompa Loompa's were shaving them and sticking the wool in a machine. Willy went from excited to nervous and embarressed. "Oh… I'd rather not talk about this one." he mumbled and Esther smiled and moved forward.

"Cotton candy?" she asked quietly and he nodded and smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I love cotton candy." Willy smiled brightly and they came into another room which looked like a hopsital.

"This is the puppet hospital and burn centre. It's relatively new." he said and they all watched as the little men pushed the puppet's from the morning show on beds and Esther couldn't help but laugh. He had actually built a room for this! They sped on and suddenly stopped. They managed to keep themselves upright but stumbled slightly. They were in some kind of office and a female Oompa Loompa sat at a desk. If it wasn't wearing pink and a skirt Esther would have thought it was a male Oompa Loompa. "Ah, the administration offices. Hello, Doris." Willy said brightly and waved. Doris waved back and they sped off again. This time Esther flew right into Willy and she blushed. He helped her up and smiled at her.

"I'm so sorry." she stammered and he giggled.

"No worries. The elevator takes time to get used to. I built it and it took me a while to get used to." he admitted making her smile. They stopped and then went down fast making Esther stomach flip slightly. Her eyes were bright from all the colours, as was her brothers. The Oompa Loompa's were sitting in chairs and putting candies into the machines and shooting from some kind of guns. They were shooting for the targets right behind them. Esther's eyes widened but Mr Wonka didn't seem too worried and just as it came close they shot down and it missed them and exploded into bright sparks and she grinned. Amazing.

"Why is everything here completely pointless?" Mike asked as he looked around the place in disgust. Esther scowled.

"Candy doesn't have to have a point. That's why it's candy." Charlie pointed out, making Willy smile slightly.

"It's stupid." Mike snapped. "Candy is a waste of time." Esther looked up at Mr Wonka and saw that he seemed to have a pained look on his face and frowned. She wondered if he was having one of his flashbacks. Surely these couldn't be healthy? No, not at all. She wondered what she could do to bring him back, he looked to be in so much pain. She thought maybe contact. She grabbed his hand and started to rub soothing circles on his hand but he didn't seem to be coming back. She pressed harder and stroked his arm. Charlie saw this and smiled. Willy eventually came back and shook his head slightly. He still had a dazed look on his face. He looked down when he felt something on his arm and hand and his eyes widened slightly to see that it was Esther. Some reason he didn't mind it. She smiled at him warmly and he smiled weakly back.

"I wanna pick a room." Mike practically whined and interrupted their moment. Willy smiled and moved to the side to let him through.

"Go ahead." he said in a slightly sly but dazed voice. Mike turned aroud and looked at the wall. He took about five minutes and then pressed a button and Esther rolled her eyes when she saw that he had picked the television room. How typical of him, she thought. The elevator stopped and they took off in another direction and they all stumbled. It took about thirty seconds but then they came to a stop and they stumbled out of the elevator, except Willy. They went into a room that was purely white and Willy ran to the wall where there seemed to be a white bucket hanging from it.

"Here. Put these on quick, and don't take them off whatever you do. This light could burn your eyeballs right out of your skulls. And we certainly don't want that, now, do we?" he said and pulled out two pairs of goggles. They were like the ones he wore at the beginning of the tour except these were white. He put on his own pair and passed the other one he brought out and gave it to Esther. She smiled at him and put them on. They felt weird as they were so big. Everyone grabbed a pair and took a look around the room. "This is the testing room for my very latest and greatest invention: Television Chocolate." he told them as they walked further in. "One day it occurred to me. . . Hey, if television can break up a photograph into millions and millions of tiny little pieces and send it whizzing through the air, then reassemble it on the other end. . . Why can't I do the same thing with chocolate? Why can't I, send a real bar of chocolate through the television, all ready to be eaten?"

"It sounds... possible." Esther admitted and he beamed at her. Mike frowned.

"Sounds impossible." Mike's dad muttered and Esther knew where the little boy got his attitude from.

"It is impossible. You don't understand anything about science. First off, there's a difference between waves and particles. Duh! Second, the amount of power it would take to convert energy in matter would be like nine atomic bombs." Mike rambled and waved his arms about. From the look on his face Willy seemed to be getting annoyed now.

"MUMBLER!" Willy blew up and glared at Mike. Everyone esle stopped and stilled. "Seriously, I cannot understand a single word you're saying." There was a slight awkward and tense silence for a little while. "Okey-dokey." Willy said in his usual cheery self and turned away. "I shall now send a bar of chocolate from one end of the room. . . to the other, by television. Bring in the chocolate! It's gotta be real big, 'cos you know how on TV you can film a regular-size man, and he comes out looking this tall? Same basic principle." He motioned with his hands and bent forward to press a large red button and something shot at the bar of chocolate and it disappeared.

"It's gone!" Charlie cried with eyes wide and Willy smiled proudly.

"Told you. Now, that bar of chocolate is now rushing through the air above our heads in a million tiny little pieces. Come over here. Come on. Come on. Come on!" he ushured them to the other side of the room where the TV was and the Oompa Loompa on the chair tried to see from behind us. "Watch the screen. Here it comes. Oh, look. Take it." he said to Mike as the candy bar made it's way through the air and to the TV.

Mike sneered. "It's just a picture on a screen."

Willie Wonka gave him an annoyed look. "Scaredy-cat. You take it." he said to Esther. "Go on. Just reach out and grab it. Go on." Hesitantly she reached out and to her amazement her hand went through the screen and she grabbed the chocolate bar. Not knowing what would happen she quickly pulled her hand back.

"Holy buckets." Charlie muttered to himself.

Willie Wonka smiled at her. "Eat it. Go on. It'll be delicious. It's the same bar. It's just gotten a little smaller on the journey, that's all." he said and she looked at the bar of chocolate in her hand and then back to Mr Wonka. He nodded his hand and motioned biting motions. She grinned and unwrapped the bar and took a small bite. The taste exploded in her mouth and she grinned and licked her lips.

"It's great." she told him and he grinned widely at her. She couldn't help but blush.

"It's a miracle." Charlie whispered.

Willie Wonka walked over to the chair that the Oompa Loompa was sat on and leaned against it. "So imagine, ah, you're sitting at home watching television and suddenly a commercial will flash onto the screen, and a voice will say, "Wonka's chocolates are the best in the world. If you don't believe us, try one for yourself." And you simply reach out. . . and take it." he whispered the last three words and reached out with is hand and grabbed the air. "How about that?" Esther frowned as a thought came to her. She walked over to him so the other couldn't hear.

"Mr Wonka?" she asked quietly and he looked at her with a smile.

"Yes Esther?" he said and she blushed when he said her name.

"I have a question about this Television Chocolate." she admitted.

"Oh." he said. "Go ahead."

"Well... if you can just reach out and grab it... how wll you make any money?" she asked and he frowned. "I mean they wouldn't need to buy it anymore." He opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"Heh... something that obviously needs work on." he said and she had a feeling he was talking to himself and not her.

"So can you send other things? Say, like, breakfast cereal?" Mr Teavee spoke up and they looked at him. Willy wrinkled his nose.

"Do you have any idea what breakfast cereal's made of? It's those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners." he said wiggling his fingers making Esther giggle.

"But could you send it by television if you wanted to?" Charlie asked, joining the conversation.

"Of course I could." he said confidently.

"What about people?" Mike asked and Willy frowned.

"Well, why would I want to send a person? They don't taste very good at all." Willy said in a serious but childish voice.

"Don't you realise what you've invented? It's a teleporter. It's the most important invention in the history of the world. And all you think about is chocolate." Mike said scathingly.

"Calm down, Mike. I think Mr Wonka knows what he's talking about." his dad said and that surprised Willy, Esther and Charlie. For once he was defending Willy and going against his son. Weird.

"No, he doesn't. He has no idea. You think he's a genius, but he's an idiot." Mike spat and Esther scowled. How dare anyone really care Willy Wonka and idiot. "But I'm not." _You sure about that? _Esther thought menacingly. Mike ran up tho where the machine was and pushed two Oompa Loompa's down and Esther frowned.

"Hay, little boy. Don't push my button." Willy said but Esther thought he also meant don't push my button to get me angry. Oh. I wonder what he is like angry? she thought randomly. She had just always seen him happy and cheery it would be weird to see him angry. Mike ran up and pushed the button with his foot and jumped up and was shot with the same thing the chocolate was and was suddenly gone.

"He's gone." Mr Teavee exclaimed.

"Let's go check the television, see what we get. I sure hope no part of him gets left behind." Mr Wonka said to him self and although he did say it to himself, everyone heard and Mr Teavee's face was priceless

"What do you mean?" he demanded roughly and Willy grimaced as he looked at him.

"Well, sometimes only half the little pieces find their way through. If you had to choose only one half of your son, which one would it be?" he asked curiously and got glared at.

"What kind of a question is that?" Mr Teavee growled.

"No need to snap. Just a question." Willy grumbled to himself and looked back at the TV. "Try every channel. I'm starting to feel a little anxious." he told the Oompa Loompa who was sat in the chair still.

"There he is." Charlie exclaimed as Mike suddenly appeared on screen and Mike's dad sighed in relief.

"Mike." he called but suddenly music started and another song was played.

_The most important thing, That we've ever learned,  
The most important thing we've learned, As far as children are concerned,  
Is never, never let them near, The television set, Or better still just don't install, The idiotic thing at all,  
Never, never let them, Never, never let them, Never, never let them, Never, never let them,  
It rots the senses in the head, It keeps imagination dead,  
It clogs and clutters up the mind, It makes a child so dull and blind,  
So dull, so dull, He can no longer understand, A fairy tale, a fairyland, A fairyland, a fairyland,  
His brain becomes as soft as cheese, His thinking powers rust and freeze,  
He cannot think, he only sees. Regarding little Mike Teavee,  
We very much regret that we, Regret that we, Shall simply have to wait and see,  
Wait and see, wait and see, Wait and see, wait and see, wait and see,  
We very much regret that we, Shall simply have to wait and see,  
If we can get him back his height, But if we can't, It serves him right._

The song was a kind of rock song and like all the other songs Mr Wonka was happily dancing along with the beat as though nothing had happened. At the end of the song Mike was squashed by some papers and Willy winced.

"Ew, somebody grab him." Willy said slightly disgusted and recoiled when Mike's dad brought him out and set him on his palm.

"Help me. Help me." Mike cried in a squeaky, nearly non-audible voice.

"Oh, thank heavens. He's completely unharmed." Willy said to himself as he stared at the boy. Mr Teavee heard it and glared at him.

"Unharmed? What are you talking about?" he snapped.

"Just put me back in the other way." Mike squeaked and Willy grimaced.

"There is no other way. It's television, not telephone. There's quite a difference." he said and Esther had no sympathy for the boy. He was told not to do it and he didn't listen. It is his own fault.

"And what exactly do you propose to do about it?" Mr Teavee said angrily.

"I don't know." Willy said uncomfortably. "But young men are extremely springy. They stretch like mad. Ah! Let's go put him in the taffy puller." He grinned widely and nodded his head.

"Taffy puller?" Mr Teavee cried out in horror.

"Hey, that was my idea." Willy said childishly and frowned/pouted. "Boy, is he gonna be skinny. Yeah. Taffy puller." he went on dreamily making Esther giggle and he looked at her and she grinned. "I want you to take Mr Teavee and his… little boy, up to the taffy puller, okay? Stretch him out." he told the Oompa Loompa and the Teavee's were dragged off. "On with the tour. There's still so much left to see. Now, how many children are left?" He turned around to see Esther and Charlie there.

"Mr Wonka, Charlie's the only one left now." Esther stated softly.

* * *

_**I want to thank those for reading this story and those of you who took the time to review. :) x **_

_**sorry about writing charlotte not esther. I have another story with that name and typed it by an accident.**_


	6. Wilbur Wonka

**Chapter six**

**Wilbur Wonka**

Willy stared at them without saying anything for about a minute. "You mean, you're the only one?" he said eventually.

"Yes." Charlie said with a smile. Esther did not know if it was her imagination but she felt as though Willy was trying not to smile right now.

"What happened to the others?" he said innocently and then a smile did come on to his face and he grabbed Charlie's hand. "Oh, my dear boy, but that mean's you've won. Oh, I do congratulate you. I really do. I'm absolutely delighted. I had a hunch you know, right from the beginning. Well done. Now, we mustn't dilly, or dally." Esther's head spun with the speed in which he was talking to them and Willy eventually let go of Charlie's hand and turned away and started to walk again. "Because we have an enormous number of things to do before the day's out. But luckily for us, we have the great glass elevator to speed things al. . ." Esther and Charlie winced as he banged into the elevator and fell to the ground. They ran to him to make sure he was ok. "Speed things along. Come on." he said shyly, and Esther was sure he was blushing, and pushed the button to open the elevator. They stepped inside and he pressed a button called 'Up and Out.' What kind of room was that? Esther thought to herself and frowned.

"Up and out? What kind of room is that?" Charlie asked, saying what she was thinking. Mr Wonka seemed to be rather excited about something and had a huge grin on his face. They seemed to be going faster than usual and were heading straight up.

"Hold on." he told them. "Oh, my goodness. We're gonna need to go much faster, otherwise we'll just never break through." Mr Wonka muttered to himself and looked up. Charlie and Esther looked at each other.

"Break through what?" If anything Mr Wonka's smile seemed to increase.

"I've been longing to press that button for years. Well, here we go. Up and out!" He giggled excitedly and Esther's eyes widened when she realised what he was saying. Oh my, this man was insane!

"But do you really mean. . .?" she asked nervously and he frantically nodded his head and gave her a wide smile.

"Yeah, I do."

"But it's made of glass." she cried. "It'll smash into a million pieces." He just chuckled and she grabbed onto her brother and Mr Wonka when they fianlly reached the top and smashed through the glass roof and into the air. They went up and then shot down. Esther's grip tightened and he quickly pressed another button. Some kind of metal contraptions shot out and fire came out to hold them up. The paused in mid-air and watched as the factory doors opened and the other contestants came out of the building and out of the factory grounds.

Mrs Gloop and her son Augustus were walking out first and her son was covered in chocolate and he seemed to be licking his fingers from what she could see. Next came Violet. Her skin was still the colour violet that she had turned during the time when she was turned into a blueberry but now she was no longer huge but back to the size she was when she entered. However, she seemed to be very flexible now as she cartwheeled and backflipped down the steps. After them came Veruca and her father covered in rubbish and trash. Veruca looked up at them and then at her father. Esther could guess she was asking for a glass elevator. Typical. Lastly came Mike. Esther knew it was cruel but she was laughing in her head. Mike was very tall now but from the side you could hardly see him. He was as thin as a piece of paper.

"Where do you live?" Mr Wonka asked and they looked out the elevator to find it.

"Right over there. That little house." Charlie said and pointed to their house. Esther felt a little embarressed but Willy smiled and pressed a button and they zoomed towards their destination. Apparently Willy had not managed to work on landings as he went right through the roof. Their parents jumped out the way and they narrowly missed the bed.

"I think there's someone at the door." Grandma Georgina muttered and Esther smiled, she always could make her smile.

"Hi, Mom." Charlie shouted and jumped out of the elevator. Esther smiled at Willy before she stepped out herself and Willy followed. "Mom. Dad. We're back." Mr and Mrs Bucket looked grimly up at the ceiling. "This is Willy Wonka. He gave us a ride home."

"I can see that." their dad said still looking at the ceiling.

"You must be their. . ." Willy said and choked on the word again. Esther thought it was rather cute when he did it.

"Parents?" Mr Bucket offered and he nodded his head.

"Yeah. That." he said relieved and started to look around the room.

"He says Charlie's won something." Esther piped up as it had gone rather silent and awkward.

"Not just some something. The most 'something' something of any something that's ever been. I'm gonna give this little boy my entire factory." Willy said as he looked at the model Charlie had made of his factory.

"You must be joking." she exclaimed and he smiled at her.

"No, really. It's true." he said and shook his head. "Because, you see, a few months ago, I was having my semi-annual haircut. . . and I had the strangest revelation. In that one silver hair, I saw reflected my life's work, my factory, my beloved Oompa-Loompas. Who would watch over them after I was gone? I realised in that moment, 'I must find and Heir'. And I did, Charlie. You." He turned to face Charlie and smiled at him. Charlie was in shock.

"That's why you sent out the golden tickets." Esther guessed.

"Ah-ha."

"What are Oompa-Loompas?" Esther heard her mother say to her father.

"I invited five children to the factory and the one who was the least rotten would be the winner." Willy went on.

"That's you, Charlie." Esther grinned at her brother.

"So what do you say? Are you ready to leave all this behind and come live with me at the factory?" Willy giggled.

"Sure. Of course. I mean, it's all right if my family come too?" Charlie asked.

"Oh, my dear boy, of course they can't." Willy said with the smile still on his face. Charlie's family seemed to be a little more than shocked. "You can't run a chocolate factory with a family hanging over you like an old, dead goose. No offence." he said the last bit to the people in the bed.

"None taken, jerk." Grandpa George cursed and Willy narrowed his eyes at him.

"A chocolatier has to run free and solo. He has to follow his dreams. Gosh darn the consequences. Look at me. I had no family, and I'm a giant success." Willy grabbed his cane tighter and smiled wider. Esther looked down. She could not believe what he was saying.

"So if I go with you to the factory, I won't ever see my family again?" Charlie asked slowly, as if to be able to understand what he was telling him.

"Yeah. Consider that a bonus."

Charlie shook his head. "Then I'm not going. I wouldn't give up my family for anything. Not for all the chocolate in the world." Mr Wonka seemed to be thrown a little and frowned.

"Oh, I see. That's weird." His hand tightened on the cane and he gulped. "There's other candy too besides chocolate." he said as if to try and sway him.

"I'm sorry, Mr Wonka. I'm staying here." Charlie said firmly.

"Wow. Well, that's just. . . unexpected. . . and weird." he muttered. "But I suppose, in that case, I'll just. . . Goodbye, then." he said and walked to the elevator. He looked at Esther who was still looking at the ground and frowned even more. "Sure you won't change your mind?"

"I'm sure." Charlie said with a hard look and Willy finally stepped into the elevator and looked down at the floor.

"Okay. Bye." It was silent as Willy took off and left the house. Esther had actually thought that he was a nice man, she liked him and he turned out to be rather cruel. Who would try and take someone's family away? She blinked back some tears.

"Things are going to get much better." Grandma Georgina said breaking the tense silence.

* * *

And for once, Grandma Georgina knew exactly what she was talking about. The next morning, Charlie and Esther helped their parents fix the hole in the roof. Grandpa Joe spent the whole day out of bed and he didn't feel tired at all. Charlie's and Esther's father got a better job at the toothpaste factory. . . repairing the machine that had replaced him in the first place. Things had never been better for the Bucket family. The same could not be said for Willy Wonka however. His new candies were not selling very well and only the Wonka bars seemed to be getting sold. Charlie had taken up a job buffing shoes and Esther was still at her same job but she had the day off as it was Saturday luckily and she was currently in the candy shop getting some chocolate.

"Pity about that chocolate fellow, Wendell, er, Walter." said the guy whose shoes Charlie was cleaning.

"Willy Wonka." Charlie corrected.

"That's the one. Says here in the paper his new candies aren't selling very well. But I suppose he's just a rotten egg who deserves it." the man said as he looked at the paper.

"Yep." Charlie said and rubbed some polish on the brush.

"Oh, really? You ever met him?"

"I did. I thought he was great at first, but then he didn't turn out so nice." Charlie told him. "He also has a funny haircut." he added and the man threw down his paper and scowled at him.

"I do not!" Willy defended. Charlie sighed and looked up at him.

"Why are you here?" he asked tiredly.

"I don't feel so hot. What makes you feel better when you feel terrible?" Willy asked and frowned.

"My family." he responded immediately and Willy grimaced.

"Euw." he muttered and looked away.

"What do you have against my family?" Charlie demanded and scowled up at him. He was getting sick of Mr Wonka going on about his family. Willy sighed and looked at him.

"It's not just your family. It's the whole idea of. . . You know, they're always telling you what to do, what not to do, and it's not conducive to a creative atmosphere." he huffed and looked away again. Charlie's eyes softened.

"Usually they're just trying to protect you because they love you. If you don't believe me, you should ask." he said gently and Willy scoffed.

"Ask who? My father? No way." He folded his arms and pouted. "At least, not by myself." he said shyly.

"You want me to go with you?" he asked and Willy beamed.

"Hey. Hey, what a good idea. Yeah!" he said excitedly.

"On one condition." Charlie said and Willy looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"I get to bring someone along." he said and Willy had a vague idea about who he was talking about. He nodded his head and Charlie jumped up and ran to the shop where he had started his business. He came out a second later dragging Esther who had one of his chocolate bars in her hand.

"What is going on?" she huffed and froze when she saw Willy. He smiled shyly at her and she smiled back slightly.

"Hey!" he said and she just blinked. She couldn't believe it! She thought she would never see him again.

"Hi." she said softly and Charlie grinned at them.

"Come on let's go." he urged and Willy nodded his head. He spun on his heel and started to walk.

"And you know what? I got transp. . ." Esther and Charlie winced as he banged into the elevator and ran to see if he was ok, again. "I have to be more careful where I park this thing." he mumbled to himself and they got into the elevator. He pressed a button and they shot off into the air. It took some time but they eventually came to their destination and landed. There was a lot of snow everywhere and there was a lone house stood in the middle. "I think we've got the wrong house." Willy said and tried to go back but Esther grabbed his hand.

"Come on Mr Wonka. It will be fine." she soothed.

"Don't call me that."

"What?" she said confused.

"Don't call me Mr Wonka." he said. "Call me Willy." Esther smiled and nodded her head but didn't let go of his hand and dragged him to the house as she could tell he was very nervous. They knocked on the door and waited. The door opened a second later and a man in a white dentist suit opened the door. He had white hair and a white beard with flecks of grey in it.

"Do you have an appointment?" he said in a deep voice, looking at them a little suspicously.

"No. But he's overdue." Charlie said and smiled. He let them in and made their way to a back room. Willy was led over to the dentist chair while Esther and Charlie walked over to the right side of the room where there seemed to be posters and files filled with all the reports and clips about Willy and his factory. Esther smiled softly and looked at the duo. No matter what he did to Willy when he was younger or said to him it was obvious that he loved his son very much.

"Do you miss him?" she asked bluntly and Mr Wonka looked at her and Willy gave her a confused look, she just smiled. She nodded to the newspapers and Wilbur nodded his head.

"Every day." he said and turned back to Willy. Esther winked at Willy and turned to Charlie and listened to the conversation that was going on between Willy and his father.

"Open. Now, let's see what the damage is, shall we?" Wilbur murmured as he pushed Willy back in the seat. "Heavens. I haven't seen bicuspids like these since. . . Since... Willy?" There was a silence as Willy sat up in the seat.

"Hi, Dad." he said cutely and shyly. Wilbur stood up straight and looked at him. He clenched his fist and put down the instruments that was in his hands.

"All these years. . . and you haven't flossed." he said and Esther nearly snorted in amusement. They had not seen each other for about twenty years and this is what he chose to say to him. She shook her head and chuckled under her breath.

"Not once." Willy said and shook his head. Esther and Charlie watched silently as the two men hugged hesitantly and then finally relaxed. Esther and Charlie smiled, happy that Willy was finally back on track and had his father back. They stayed for a few more hours and had some tea and the two men caught up from the years apart. When they left they promised to come back some time and they got into the elevator. "Charlie?" Willy said as they were flying home. Esther noted that he seemd rather nervous right now.

"Yes Willy?"

"I was, er, wondering..." he gulped loudly.

"Yes?"

"I would like to ask if you would accept the offer I gave you." he said and his eyes flickered to Esther. "But this time you're family can come too." Charlie and Esther beamed at him.

"Do you mean that?" Charlie asked excitedly. Willy nodded his head.

"Of course I do. Family isn't so bad." he eventually told them with a smile on his face.


End file.
